~ Day 6 ~
~ Day 6 ~
"There! That's her house up there!" Scootaloo led Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to the cloud where Rainbow's house was. "I may not be able to fly, but I'm still a Pegasus! So I can walk on clouds! All I need to do is somehow get up on that cloud."
"Sounds like this is a job for..." started Apple Bloom, then joined in by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. "...Cutie Mark Crusaders catapult builders!" So the three of them dashed back to Sweet Apple Acres to look for building materials.
---
Rainbow Dash sighed as she sat all alone in her room, still in bed. The past few days had been hard for her ever since she came to realize her closest friends would not be returning the next morning or the morning after, or so she thought. She turned her head and gazed at a framed photo of the six of them in a group hug at Sugarcube Corner.
"What we're trying to say is, it's great to be really good at something, but it's important to act with grace and humility."
"What were you thinking, Twilight Sparkle?!"
"But Rainbow Dash had to stop! Her bragging was out of control!"
"And you honestly thought this was the answer?! All you did was create a friendship problem, and after I warned you not to! I'm very disappointed."
"We're sorry! I'm sorry!"
"Hmph. Well, you'll have plenty of time to think about how sorry you are... once I hand out your punishments!"
"But... I didn't think-"
"You should have. This is what happens when you fail to think twice before your actions. This time, you will have a lot to think about... my former student."
---
Fluttershy, Twilight, and a unicorn royal guard stepped off the train, arriving at the Ponyville train station.
"I'm glad Princess Celestia let us go early," said Fluttershy.
"And I'm still her most trusted student," said Twilight Sparkle proudly. "Now then, we have somepony to see." But on their way, they saw the practically crippled state of Fluttershy's cottage and gasped. Poor Fluttershy was about to cry, but she heard a monstrous roar and saw her beloved pet bunny Angel being chased by a hungry Timberwolf.
"Angel!" shrieked Fluttershy. Initially believing she was too weak to save Angel, she started to cry, but when she saw Angel moments away from being eaten, her inner courage broke out and she flew right into the Timberwolf, distracting it.
"You leave Angel Bunny alone!" Fluttershy hollered at the Timberwolf. "You monster!" The Timberwolf just roared in her face, spooking her at first, but she bit back. "Yes, that's right. I'm talking to you!!" And with that, she began to administer her signature stare, which actually began to intimidate the Timberwolf a bit. "Get out of here right now," she growled, continuing to fire her venomous look right into the Timberwolf's now spooked glowing eyes. "Otherwise," continued Fluttershy. "I won't feel bad about turning you into firewood!" The Timberwolf gave a yelp and ran away scared, back into the Everfree Forest from whence it came. Angel was so glad to be alive that he ran up and hugged Fluttershy. "I missed you, Angel," cried Fluttershy, as Twilight looked on happily.
---
Now holding the photo in her hooves, Rainbow Dash felt tears in her eyes, but she was not too cool to not wipe them away and pass it off as sweating through her eyes. She initially believed that their friendship was practically all but ruined as of now. Who knows how long her friends would be gone and stuck at Canterlot serving their punishment time. However, she did not know that at least Twilight and Fluttershy would soon come home.
"Well you, you, you are such a, a flip-flop - cool one minute and lame the next. When you decide not to be lame anymore, gimme a call."
"Look at you! You're no hero! Mare Do Well is the best!"
"Yeah, why did she disappear anyway? Did you help?"
"Something's been on my mind for months now... Did my friends do the right thing? Or were they just trying to make me look weak and helpless? I need to know."
"Twilight Sparkle..."
"Where are you taking my friends?"
"They will not humiliate you anymore."
"Why are you doing this?"
"I'm teaching you a lesson... in friendship lessons!"
---
Just outside, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had prepared a small catapult, with Scootaloo sitting in the contraption. Hold on, Rainbow Dash, thought Scootaloo. I'm coming.
"Ready, aim, fire!" shouted Sweetie Belle, and she and Apple Bloom triggered the catapult, which successfully flung Scootaloo onto the cloud safely.
"Good luck, Scootaloo!" called Apple Bloom, both she and Sweetie Belle waving to her from below.
---
Poor Dash didn't even feel like reading any of those Daring Do books. She hugged the photo to her chest as tears streamed down her face.
"I thought things were gonna start so well that day," she murmured through her tears. "But I couldn't have been more wrong." And that's when she heard a knock on her door.
"Rainbow Dash?" said a small voice. "Are you okay? Can I come in?" Rainbow knew that voice all too well, so she put down the photo and answered the door. There was Scootaloo, with a sorrowful look in her eyes. "I'm so sorry I doubted you. Can we still be sisters?" Rainbow Dash smiled warmly and allowed Scootaloo to come into her home.
"Of course we can," said Rainbow Dash. "I'm glad you're here... Scootaloo." They both got on her bed and snuggled up together.
"If you look inside your heart, you will find somepony who will always be there for you."
Now Rainbow Dash understood. Maybe... she thought. I can't be with my friends, but Princess Luna was right. At least I have somepony to confide in. Rainbow felt another tear in her eye.
"Hey... Scootaloo?" she said.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you... Thanks for being here for me."
"You're welcome. I'd do anything for you, Rainbow Dash." The two sisters stayed where they were, wrapped in each other's warm embrace on Rainbow's bed, enjoying their company and the bond they shared, the bond Scootaloo had always wanted.
---
Twilight and Fluttershy came to the cloud where Rainbow's house was. They both wondered if Rainbow was actually home and hoped she did not forget about them.
"Hey, Twi! Wait up!" Applejack suddenly came trotting to them along with Pinkie Pie and Rarity.
"Applejack!" cried Twilight. "Pinkie Pie! Rarity!" The five ponies shared a group hug before turning their attention upward to Rainbow's house.
"Do you think she's home?" asked Rarity.
"Do you think she'll ever forgive us?" asked Fluttershy.
"Do you think she'll even remember our names?!" asked Pinkie Pie, earning her an awkward look from the others.
"Well," said Twilight. "There's only one way to find out. Let's do this."
THE END